How to clean your paintball gun | The basics

Cleaning your paintball gun is probably one of the most neglected aspects of your paintball journey. Sure you can bring it to our professionals and make them do it for you (and you probably should most of the time), but there’s things you should do before and after playing at the field. A basic maintenance of your arsenal will help your marker have a longer lifespan.

If your paintball gun is always well maintained then you will have a better day at the paintball center, otherwise you will wait for it to be ready and lose some of that precious play time. This guide will help you understand the good practice of cleaning your paintball gun and some bad practice to avoid breaking it.

Cleaning your paintball gun and make it ready for the season

recommend steps of cleaning process of your paintball marker:

1. Remove the co2 or the air tank : Never let your co2 or air tank on your paintball marker, it could damage it internally.
2. Disassemble your marker : Not entirely, but basic parts like the barrel, hopper and bolt. Unless you are an experienced player and have done it before we do not recommend under any circumstance to open it, you could make it worse than it already is, leave that to the pros.
3. Clean the barrel : Rinse out the potential paint and debris and run a swab to clean the rest.
4. Clean the body : Not every paintball gun is the same so check its manual if you have it whether you can use a cloth to rinse your marker. Use a Q-tip or toothbrush to reach choked areas, that way you can carefully scrub your gun and prevent any future jamming.
5. Clean the bolt and the hammer : With a paper towel, polish the bolt and the hammer and then let it dry. Make sure to check your O-rings if there are any signs of wear and tear as it can make your marker leak air.
6. Cleaning or replacing the O-Rings : If your O-rings are damaged or show signs of wear and tear, replace them to ensure that your marker works, otherwise you will probably have to wait at the store while our pros take care of it.
7. Check and replace the batteries : Obviously, check and change your batteries if needed, and remove them when you are not using your marker as it can damage the electronics.
8. Oil and lubricate your marker : Now that your marker is clean, it’s time to give it some love and put some oil (only use oil or grease designed for this purpose) on the part that needs it. Look in your marker manual if you don’t know which parts need to be lubricated.
9. Reassemble it : Now that everything is done, reassemble your guns carefully and get ready for your next play day at the field. Remember to do this step with care to avoid any future damage to your marker.

Maintenance on the field

When you are playing paintball, chances of getting dirty are, let’s say pretty high, even unavoidable. You will get hit on a regular basis and other than that you will play in wood, sand, mud or even under the rain so like i already pointed out, getting dirty is unavoidable.

Also, eventually, it could be a paintball that splatters in the barrel and makes your paintball marker unusable. Fortunately for you, there’s some things you can do when this happens and there’s also some equipment you should always have in your bag to help you make a quick clean up.

Here’s 3 must-have maintenance accessories and how to use it:

Paintball swab: A paintball barrel swab or cotton swab is one of the must-have accessories that you should always have on you, even on the field. Its main use is for quickly cleaning your barrel, obviously, but can be used to wipe paint in your pods as well. Note that you can also use it to clean your plug, if you don’t understand why, trust me you will eventually.

Paintball squeegee: Most of the time it will come as a combo with your swab, the squeegee is used to finish the celan of your barrel, removing the rest of the paint and debris.

Microfiber towel: A microfiber towel is essential for cleaning paint residue on your marker or your mask. It should be used in the rest zone as you can’t remove your mask under any circumstance while on the field.

The importance of maintenance on a daily basis

While most long-time paintball players enjoy taking time to properly clean their paintball marker, newer players tend to skip this step too often. First thing to remember, paint is not good for your paintball equipment.

Have you ever seen what paint can do if you do not wipe it correctly off your gun?

Paintball paint may be biodegradable and not harmless for the environment but for your marker it’s his worst enemy. When you are done playing, you should always clean up most of the paint, dust, mud or anything else that does not belong on it, before leaving the center. When back home, you should finish the job and clean it completely so it will be ready the next time you get back at the field.

Store your paintball marker the proper way

Another important thing to do if you want to give your paintball gun a longer life, is to properly store it and not just at the end of the season but every time you get back home. If not stored properly it can easily get damaged. Paintball guns are not toys that you can throw in your garage corner and hope that it’s gonna be ok and ready for your next paintball day.

• Always make sure that your ammunition is completely removed (empty hopper or magazine) and in the barrel.
• Separate the gas or air tank from your marker and eliminate the remnant gas.
• Lube your pins and screws to avoid them getting stuck.
• It’s not a toy so make sure it is safely stored, away from children with the safety on.
• Keep your paintballs and gas or air tank in a different area of your home
• As the owner, you should be the only person to arm the marker in order to use it.